Neat story. Remember this like it was yesterday. Phil Cox would be tough to leave off of an all SEC team of my lifetime. He won more games at the buzzer than maybe anybody. Dude was Lofton before Lofton was born.
Note the second to last paragraph carefully. It can always be worse...
22) Feb. 24, 1983 MBB: Phil Cox's free throws beat Tennessee
Vanderbilt defeated Tennessee, 69-68, on Feb. 24, 1983 on what is one of the most controversial calls in the history of Memorial Gym. With Vanderbilt trailing by one, Phil Cox drove the length of the floor, was fouled with one second to play on a blocking call against Tennessee's Tyrone Beaman. As a result of the foul, Cox - the nation's leading foul shooter - sank both free throws to beat the Vols. The controversial foul became known simply as "The Collision."
"I can't say I wasn't a little nervous, but I said to myself, `you have a chance to end it right here. I can make two or 50 free throws in a row. No reason I can't get these,' " Cox said.
The Collision came after Dan Federmann hit a 15-footer to give Tennessee a 68-67 lead with five seconds left. As Cox (pictured) drove the lane and made contact with Beaman, official Allie Prescott called Beaman for a block as opposed to whistling Cox for charging.
"It was the worst call ever made on me in my life," Beaman said. "I looked at the official and he looked at me. I said some things that he could have called a technical on me for, but he didn't. He just looked at me as if to say he was sorry, but he had made the call and there was nothing he could do about it."
The win snapped a three-game losing streak and moved Vanderbilt to 17-10 overall and 8-7 in the SEC. Earlier in the season, Vanderbilt had snapped a 10-game losing streak to No. Tennessee (17-8, 9-7 SEC) and with the win at Memorial Gym, the Commodores swept the season series for the first time since 1966. The win in Knoxville also came after two free throws by Cox with 12 seconds to play.
Cox, just a sophomore, finished with 22 points and Jeff Turner scored 17. Both teams shot better than 60% from the floor. Vanderbilt made 60.5% of its shots and Tennessee made 60.4% of its attempts. VU made 17-of-24 from the free-throw line and Tennessee made 4-of-6.
"It was another game in which an official determined the winner," Tennessee Head Coach Don DeVoe said. "If you put Cox on the foul line at that point, the game is over."
Tennessee had a costly turnover near the end of the game the kept the Commodores alive. With a one-point lead and the ball, Tennessee's Dale Ellis made an inbounds pass that was deflected by Vanderbilt's James Williams and wound up in the hands of Phil Cox. With 13 seconds left, Turner went to the line for a one-plus-one. He hit both and VU went in front before Tennessee regained the lead.
But what people will remember most from the game was the controversial call with one second on the clock.
"I realized that there was time to go all the way and I just went," Cox said. "I did think about pulling up at the foul line for a jumper, but saw Federmann coming out. I just kept going and got lucky by being fouled. When I hit Beaman, I saw the referee signaling block. A lot of people are going to say I charged, but it's not important now. It's over and I'm glad the way I turned out."
"I'm not saying it was a bad call, but there are too many games being decided by officiating decisions in this conference," DeVoe said. "If I had it to do over again, I'd have Tyrone make exactly the same play he did."
The game was played in front of 15,626 fans on the same day Vanderbilt Chancellor Joe B. Wyatt was inaugurated. With the win, it was the first time VU had beaten UT in football and twice in basketball in the same school year since 1954.
"They have beaten Tennessee twice in one season and it's something they can remember and cherish the rest of their lives," Vanderbilt Head Coach C.M. Newton said.